Tatiana Lazzeri mounted Squire and rode into the arena. Her lesson was starting, and she was excited to ride the horse. She stroked Squire’s mane before starting to trot.
As the pair rounded a bend in the arena, a fast pony came into Squire’s field of vision. Squire picked up his pace to match the pony’s. He wanted to race.
Squire broke into a canter and all Lazzeri could do was hold on. Squire quickly out ran the pony, but he wanted more.
He rounded another bend, but he turned too fast and fell to his shoulders, taking Lazzeri with him. The arena was dead silent, and everyone was in shock.
Lazzeri ended up underneath the horse, and felt sudden, excruciating pain in her shoulder. Squire had stepped on it.
Twice.
“I thought I broke every bone in my shoulder, the pain was so bad” Lazzeri said.
However, she only received two hoof-shaped bruises. Lazzeri considers herself lucky. “Horses are very heavy. I could’ve been crushed.”
Her instructor expected her to quit riding, but Lazzeri wouldn’t have it. The next week, she was back on the horse, riding as if the accident never happened.
Today, five years later, Lazzeri is still riding. “I wasn’t going to let a fear stop me from doing what I love.”
The sophomore loves riding, and now rides competitively. According to Lazzeri, “It’s a kind of stress relief for me.”
Now, she rides her ex-race horse Phantom, who has become her best friend. Known as an off-the-track thoroughbred, Phantom was a present for her 14th birthday party.
“I’m happy to spend any second of any day with him,” she said
Lazzeri and Phantom train in dressage, which is one of the hardest forms of riding.
“It’s very picky,” Lazzeri said. Dressage is a more formal form of riding and requires “very proper sitting.”
The pair trains twice a week during the school year, but she rides every day during the summer.
According to Lazzeri, training for competitions is a constant effort. “You and your horse have to be consistent.”
Even though the competition is high and the judging is harsh, she loves it. “Once you are in the arena all you think about is your horse and you.”
Angela DeCarlo is a Reporter for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.